The Canadian Nationalist Party is now eligible for registration with Elections Canada, possibly in time for the upcoming federal election, and its leader plans to run under the far-right party’s banner.

The party, which calls for drastic reductions in immigration, and supports an ethnic-based nationalism, has been described as neo-Nazi by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.

Elections Canada sent party leader Travis Patron a letter on Thursday. It confirmed the party met the requirements for eligibility under the Canada Elections Act and can be registered for the upcoming election if the writs of election are issued on Sept. 9 or later.

Even then, the party is still not actually registered. It must still endorse a candidate, whose candidacy then must be confirmed by a returning officer. Patron says he will run under the party banner in the southeast Saskatchewan riding of Souris—Moose Mountain.

The Sept. 9 date is significant because a party can only become registered in an election if writs are issued at least 60 days after it applied for registration. The CNP submitted a complete application on July 10.

The writ date is expected in mid-September.

Natasha Gauthier, a spokesperson for Elections Canada, said the names of people who signed declarations to confirm membership for the party’s application are public information, and will be available upon request. The Canadian Anti-Hate Network has said it will publish the names to hold accountable those supporting what it calls a neo-Nazi party.

Gauthier said nine people people did request to withdraw their names, but the party still received 266 signatures to confirm membership, more than the requisite 250 supporters.

Patron has made comments lashing out against what he calls the “parasitic tribe” and a “Zionist-occupied government,” something the Anti-Hate Network’s director called “classic neo-Nazi” conspiracy theories.

Gauthier encourages responsible use of the public information about the party’s supporters. She said Elections Canada has no latitude to refuse registration based on the ideology of a party, in accordance with the Elections Act.

“The act is neutral by design on platform and ideology,” she said. “There is absolutely no mechanism by which the chief electoral officer could reject the party’s application for registration or a candidate’s nomination. They can’t reject it based on ideology.”

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale agreed on Friday with that reading of Elections Canada’s role, but he stressed that federal hate speech laws still apply.

“Those laws will be enforced by our police and prosecutorial authorities irrespective of whether that hate emanates from a political party or anybody else,” Goodale said.

He said Canadians are largely united in rejecting anti-immigration messages, as evidenced by the recent outcry over billboards supporting the People’s Party of Canada’s stance against “mass immigration.”

“In an era when you when you see some extremist elements working their way into Canadian politics … it is very important for Canadians to be alert, for Canadians to be engaged, for Canadians to be seriously concerned about their political process and the fundamentals of their democracy,” said Goodale.

In an interview with the Leader-Post this week, Patron said his party is committed to preserving the “demographic character” of the country.

“We have demographic majorities of Aboriginal and European descent and we believe that needs to be maintained,” he said.

He wants to return to an immigration system where the minister has discretion to restrict immigration to people of certain national origins or “cultural fit.” He believes culture is inherently connected to ethnicity. He said there should be “quotas for ethnic minorities.”

Despite those views, Patron rejected the term “white nationalism.”

He said he has other candidates besides himself in mind, and could realistically run “at most 20,” though he would not provide any names.

Patron also said he believes the monarch should be resident in Canada, rather than the United Kingdom. Asked if he wishes to be King of Canada, he provided a simple answer:

“Who would say no to such a question, but ultimately it’s up to the Canadian people to decide.”

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